These are actual quotes from state legislators. We need to let our elected officials know that LGBT people and our allies live throughout Ohio and we support pro-equality legislation.

Over the past five years, more than a thousand Ohioans have visited their elected officials on Equality Ohio’s Lobby Day to talk to them about pro-equality legislation. Lobby Day has made a difference -- for the first time in Ohio’s history, pro-equality legislation passed a chamber of the General Assembly when the House voted in late 2009 to pass the Equal Housing and Employment Act. But more work is needed to make this bill the law in Ohio.

Earlier this year, 39 new legislators (or those who are returning after being out of office for more than 6 years) joined the General Assembly. These legislators need to hear from us and be educated on our issues. We must also renew our relationships with returning legislators, whether or not they support pro-equality legislation. When we tell our stories, we change hearts and minds.

This year, we expect at least two pro-equality bills to be introduced in the legislature -- the Equal Housing and Employment Act and the Comprehensive Safe Schools Act, which would apply to bullying in schools on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. We need your help to move these pro-equality measures forward.

We will help you prepare and provide you with important information to make sure that you are comfortable and ready to talk to your elected officials. We will also assign you a Lobby Day team so that you will have the support you need and be able to share the Lobby Day experience with like-minded people.

Lobby Day will conclude with a reception where many of our elected officials and community leaders will join us. Register for Lobby Day now! You can make a difference.